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Trying to connect with people can be quite difficult if your goals are not aligned or you don't share the same passion for something.   Passionfruit is the brainchild of creator Paul Deng who came up with the concept of his social app while volunteering at Toronto Distress Centres, where he realized that there was a need for people to make deep, genuine, and long-lasting connections. Without such connections, individuals can become isolated and may lack an adequate support network. Existing products and services often highlight superficial qualities like status or looks, which are unreliable when depended upon as foundations for long lasting relationships. In response, Paul’s vision is to create an app which helps people meet others on the same wavelength by using words and closeness. If someone near you is thinking about the same topics, the app matches you and gives you a platform to chat and break the ice. Discover what you’re passionate about, reach out to others with the same passions, meet, learn, and grow together through those passions and build a strong foundation for relationships. Sign up to receive updates about the passionfruit app. Follow passionfruit on Facebook: @passionfruitapp Instagram: @passionfruit_app Twitter: @apppassionfruit  

Jennifer Hargreaves is the Founder and CEO of tellent. tellent is a flexible work recruitment and social impact organization with a mission to create more equal opportunities for women to lead and earn. Through a job board and virtual networking platform, she supports women on their journeys to finding work that works for them (flexible work). tellent also helps forward-thinking and inclusive businesses to access professional and skilled talent when and how they need it so that they can thrive in our current economic climate and future of work. She was educated in Canada and has lived in worked in New Zealand, New York and London, UK. I had a fantastic discussion with her about her reasons for starting tellent, the benefits of a flexible work culture and how the pandemic caused a seismic shift in the way we work.

Women entrepreneurs account for only 16% of business owners in Canada. It's time to invest in change.  ELLA is a community and an accelerator for women, by women.  Their mission is to reduce the gap of gender inequality in entrepreneurship. They believe that every woman entrepreneur should have access to the community, information and resources needed to scale their business.  In this episode, I chat with Nicole Troster, the manager of the ELLA accelerator. We chat about ELLA's launch at the beginning of March 2020 and how like so many organizations and businesses, had to quickly pivot their offerings when the pandemic began. We also discuss the different reasons women want to start a business vs men, how many serial entrepreneurs dabble in and out of entrepreneurship and facing the hard truth of shutting down your business.  Learn more about ELLA: https://ella.yorku.ca/ Twitter: @ellawomenyu IG: @ellawomenyu

"You never know what the market wants until you go and talk to them' - Ardalan Benam, AI scientist and serial entrepreneur. Ardalan is someone who really understands what it means to be an entrepreneur and provides some honest, no BS advice for those who are looking to get into this world. As he puts it, there are so many easier ways to make money and that you shouldn't get into entrepreneurship for the money.   

Being a former personal finance blogger, but still a personal finance nerd, I loved having this type of discussion with Sandy Yong, Keynote Speaker and Award-Winning Author of The Money Master  Book.   Sandy Yong earned a business degree at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. After graduation, she started her career and began saving her hard-earned money. She naively invested in high-fee, high-risk mutual funds and soon lost thousands with the bumpy roller coaster ride of the stock market. Feeling frustrated and upset, she decided to take her money matters into her own hands and became a self-directed investor. Sandy successfully generated a 6-figure investment portfolio by the age of 27. Since then, she has been an avid real estate investor owning several rental properties with her husband. As a Keynote Speaker, she teaches female millennials how to invest in the stock market and in real estate. With her decade of experience and expertise, Sandy has published her award-winning book, The Money Master: Inside Secrets On How To Make Your Money Grow and Stay Safe. She has been featured in 70+ media outlets including Toronto Star, NBC News and Yahoo! Finance. In addition, Sandy proudly partners with CAMH: The Centre For Addiction and Mental Health. For every book purchase, she personally donates $2 to assist this charity with mental health research. Her vision is to help people feel comfortable conversing about money and mental health, as both can be sensitive subjects and have an impact on our daily lives. Website: sandyyong.com FB: @themoneymasterbook Twitter: @moneymasterbook IG:  @themoneymasterbook  

Lee Chambers is one amazing individual.  He is a Wellbeing Consultant, Workshop Facilitator and Sleep Specialist. Through relearning how to walk after illness, working in different industries, and building 2 businesses, and studying a number of advanced qualifications, he has now brought all this together to improve wellbeing advancement. He does this by working with organisations to help them become more conscious and purposeful, defining values and communicating them with clarity. Wellbeing strategies are implemented that are measured and embedded. We chat about his entrepreneurial spirit as a child, starting a business during the 2008 Financial Crisis, his new book launching in November and his advice for the graduating class of 2020.  Connect with Lee: Facebook: @essentialisecoach Twitter: @essentialise Instagram: @essentialisecoach Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClTzVmPvXM09HB7uL-gWPag?view_as=subscriber

From online banking to digital payment processing, the fintech industry has evolved and continues to evolve tremendously. In this episode, I have an open and honest conversation about finances with FinTech entrepreneur, Co-Founder and CEO of Ostrich, William Glass.  His mission is improving financial well-being globally. As founder & CEO of his company, Ostrich, William’s mobile app addresses financial literacy deficits by creating social community and accountability around money - think saving & investing with friends. In addition, William hosts the Silicon Alley Podcast providing a platform for entrepreneurs from all industries and backgrounds to tell their stories. William owns rental property and was a successful tech sales rep before starting his own business. He was also a Fulbright Scholar in Thailand. William is originally from Alabama and now resides in New York City. Site: getostrich.com Facebook: @williampglass3/@theostrichapp/@siliconalleypodcast Twitter: @williampglass3/@theostrichapp/@siliconalleypod Instagram: @williyg_iii/@theostrichapp/@siliconalleypodcast Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSF39MO5e4z1SX9tYZ EhNgA?view_as=subscriber

 Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries: Beverly Hills Chairs, the leading seller of refurbished Herman Miller Aeron chairs in the country; Custom Tobacco, a one-of-a-kind e-commerce platform where customers can create fully customized, private-label cigars in real-time; and Veloz Solutions, a technology consulting and software development practice. Adam is a also a nationally acclaimed thought leader, writer and speaker on topics including leadership, entrepreneurship and management. Adam is the creator and host of the podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where each week he goes one on one with one of the most successful people in the country on how they got to the top and how listeners can too. Adam shares how he got into entrepreneurship and provide valuable advice on leadership, bootstrapping your business, as well as going into business with a family member.  This interview was recorded back in May when we were still in lockdown, so we were also talking about how much we missed lifting weights and it wasn't the same with just resistance bands.  Follow Adam: Site: https://www.adammendler.com/ Instagram: @adammendler Twitter: @adammendler  

Note: This conversation with Steve Hoffman (aka Captain Hoff) was recorded back in May when there were still many restrictions in place during the lockdown. He shares his insights on how the pandemic has affected both startups and investors and how he has never been busier, tackling the many things on his to-do list  Steve considers himself to be someone who was always innovating on his life, likes challenges and doesn't like routine (Something that many of us can relate to, including me!).  He held various roles as a moviemaker, game developer and helped found 3 venture-led startups before launching his own startup innovation hub in San Francisco. From there it has grown to an international network of incubators, entrepreneurs and investors with over 50 partners in 22 countries.  Key takeaways - That taking something offline and trying to shoehorn it online doesn't work as well - That a combination of leadership, curiosity and stamina are what makes a great CEO - Don't sweat the small stuff, it won't matter a year, 6 months or even 3 months from now Follow Founders Space on Social Media  Twitter:  https://Twitter.com/FoundersSpace/ Instagram:  https://Instagram.com/FoundersSpace/ LinkedIn:  https://LinkedIn.com/in/FoundersSpace/ Facebook:: https://Facebook.com/groups/FoundersSpace Book Make Elephants Fly: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Elephants-Fly-Process-Innovation/dp/0349418837/ Site and Online Program Founders Space:  https://FoundersSpace.com Online Program: https://FoundersSpace.com/online/ 

*Note: This episode contains explicit language* In this episode, we're talking about the F-word. Failure or as others like to call it "A fuckup". I chat with Marsha Druker, the Founder and Director of Fuckup Nights Toronto about the importance of sharing the failure, especially for entrepreneurs and why children need to be educated about failure at a young age so they learn how to deal with it early on. She also shares a few of her own fuckups when first launching Fuckup Nights Toronto.  Learn more: fuckupnightsto.ca Instagram: @fuckupnightsto Twitter: @FuckupNightsTO    

Entrepreneur and cybersecurity expert Tawana Anderson tells her story of growing up in a rough neighbourhood and becoming a teen mom. She shares these experiences in her book, Bruised and Broken To Shine, available on her website and Amazon.com. We also discuss how being broken is not necessarily a bad thing, in that you have to go through things sometimes in order to let that light shine through.  Connect with Tawana: IG: @tawana_shine FB: Tawana Anderson Shine

Due to self-isolation and the current social distancing rules, it's no doubt that people are spending even more time online on social media, surfing the net, streaming shows and listening to podcasts.  This is the time where you may want to consider pitching yourself to journalists and to podcast hosts. Media expert Christy Laverty shares tips for entrepreneurs on how they can get visible in a big way with media coverage by being mindful in your approach during these unprecedented times. Follow Christy on Twitter: @ChristyALaverty and Instagram: @ChristyALaverty  Learn more: http://christyalaverty.com/

Arlan Hamilton is the incredible woman who built Backstage Capital from the ground up while homeless. Backstage Capital is a fund that is dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT. Started from scratch in 2015, Backstage has now raised more than $10 million and invested in more than 130 startup companies led by underestimated founders. In 2018 Arlan co-founded Backstage Studio which launched four accelerator programs for underestimated founders in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and London. Arlan was featured on the cover of Fast Company magazine in October 2018 as the first Black woman non-celebrity to do so, and her new book "It's About Damn Time", published by Penguin Random House was released on May 5, 2020.  You can purchase the book and enroll in her fundraising masterclass at itsaboutdamntime.com Follow Arlan on Twitter and Instagram : @arlanwashere

Interesting fact: This episode was recorded the day before the COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by WHO. In addition to discussing diversity in tech, Danielle Meadows-Stinnett of Octane Designs and I were also chatting about how education and the way people are learning is evolving. And now there is a surge in not just people taking e-courses but the consumption of online content overall.  Instagram: octanedesigns

Listen to some of the bloopers from recording Ep.018 with some of the team members from 6initiative.

The entrepreneurial journey has many ups and downs, sometimes on the same day- which is why it's so important to find a community that can support you along the way.  In this group interview, I chat with some of the members from the 6initiative team, an entrepreneurial community platform that provides resources, connections and guidance to side hustle/small business owners.  We chat about what makes their events so successful and how they've been engaging their community during the pandemic. Tune in to learn about why working from home (if you're able to do so)  can be beneficial, what their binge-reading and watching and what their definition of success is.   Connect with them on Facebook: @6initiative Instagram: @6initiative Site: https://www.the6initiative.ca/

There have been many misconceptions of competitive gaming, also known as Esports, but it is a billion-dollar industry with millions of people playing it around the world.  In this episode, I chat with Arwina Mogul, (Yes, that is her real last name), the CEO of the online gaming community platform, Beam.gg.   She shares how her love for gaming began when she was a child. In high school, Arwina became even more serious about gaming. She would go to internet cafes, study the other players and ask questions on how they did certain moves/how long it took them to execute a move.  Her journey into entrepreneurship began with her first esports company she started on the side while she was working as a social worker. Beam.gg is her second esports company - where clients can use their platform to engage their customers through the power of gaming. 

In this episode, I chat with Shann McGrail, the executive director of Haltech -- a non-profit organization based in the Halton Region that works with technology companies to accelerate innovation for business growth.   Shann talks about her leadership skills/style developed more after university and when she first started working.  She provides her definition of a woman in tech and the need for everyone to part of the conversation when it comes to equality.   On being a good leader: -Being a good listener, -Genuinely listening with curiosity and empathy Leadership isn't a position it's about the actions you take. At the end of the show, we chat about Shann's experience with improv and how it can help entrepreneurs.   Connect with Shann on LinkedIn  Connect with Haltech on LinkedIn

Whenever I think of venture capital and investing in early-stage companies, the shows Dragon's Den and Shark's Tank come to mind.  In this episode, I chat with Nitya Rajendran, a senior associate at Tribeca Venture Partners - an NYC based VC firm that focuses on tech startups mainly in New York. She shares how combining her passion for finance and working closely with entrepreneurs at Georgetown University made her want to pursue a career as a venture capitalist.  Site: Tribeca Venture Partners Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn  

Episode 14 kicks off Season 2 with an interview with the founder of Motify (idea came from combining the words "motivate" and "simplify"), Shauna-Kay Jones.  Editor's note:  Motify is mispronounced by the host and should be pronounced as "moh-tify".  Shauna shares how the idea for Motify came from helping her brother (who is on the Autism spectrum) choose which school and program would be the right fit for him.  She also shares her experience taking the stage at the RISE tech conference in Hong Kong and meeting Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple.  Learn more about how Motify is used to support students through their academic careers and support their personal skill development. Facebook: @motifylearn Instagram:  @motifylearn